Discovery Box - Threading Practise For Little Hands

Lately I've been getting into the concept of 'Discovery Boxes', which is something I first did for Bean when she was about 6 months old and recently I was re-inspired by a post I saw over at The Imagination Tree, a blog i've only just discovered that is FULL of amazing play ideas!

The basic notion of the Discovery Box is a box that you fill with a selection of household, craft or natural objects that can be used in open ended play. The idea is that you let the child explore the box and its items in whatever way they chose, interfering as little as possible and allowing them to discover things for themselves, only offering suggestions or help if they struggle or run out of ideas. These boxes can be a great activity for a rainy day, or to occupy a busy baby or toddler for some time whilst you get something done.

This weeks box was something to extend Bean's current fascination with putting things 'In and Out' and 'Through'. Its perfect for practicing hand eye co-odination skills, without being too difficult for little hands to achieve success and satisfaction.

Here are the contents:

• Colander
• Large funnel
• Grater
• Strainer
• Plastic cup with holes cut in sides
• Plastic cup with foam stuck over top and holes cut in foam
• Cardboard squares with holes cut out
• Straws
• Lollipop sticks
• Pipe cleaners

When Bean woke up from her nap she toddled over to the box, which i had laid on the floor in the dining room. First she asked me to hold some of the cardboard squares whilst she threaded the pipe cleaners...

 
 Then she proceeded to try it herself with straws...

Then she got out the cup covered in foam...

And pretended to drink from the cup using the pipe cleaner as a straw (totally un-prompted)...

Then the colander took her interest, she liked to listen to the sound the pipe cleaners made as they went through the holes...

With the funnel she liked to see the straws disappear through the bottom and then look underneath to see where they'd gone...

She enjoyed putting the lollipop sticks through the cup with the holes in the sides...

I left the box out over the next few days and it was revisited several times. I noticed that it was a good way for Bean to self-regulate when she got over-excited or a bit manic towards the end of the day, doing a focused quiet activity like this really seems to help calm and center her...and it's so easy (and inexpensive) to do!

More discovery boxes to come soon....

B xx